New park in downtown Phoenix taking shape

The $30 million park taking shape in downtown Phoenix will be like no other the city has built, officials say.

The yet-unnamed spot will use water, lights, shade and art to create an oasis for nearby Arizona State University students, office workers, residents and tourists, landscape architect Tom Byrne said.

"The concept of the park was an urban weave, so we are weaving together the neighborhood around the park, the offices and ASU," Byrne said.

The park, which is expected to open in March, covers 2.77 acres and sits in the city's business district. It's bound by Central and First avenues and Polk and Fillmore streets.

The park is one of several multimillion-dollar projects - including light rail, a hotel and expanded convention center - that city leaders hope will revitalize downtown.

To be sure, it's not as big as New York's sprawling Central Park or Chicago's Millennium Park. But it is expected to be a key gathering place in downtown Phoenix and a long-awaited addition to Arizona State University.

University officials crave an outdoor space for students, and the park's location is steps away from a post office that will eventually become a student union.

The new park "will provide further engagement opportunities for our students and the community," said Georgeana Montoya, dean of students at ASU's downtown Phoenix campus.

"It is located in the heart of ASU's downtown Phoenix campus and will be a great student-gathering and recreational space."

On a recent morning, crews erected steel crimson beams for shade structures and installed pavers. The park builds on lessons that the city has learned from its other parks and introduces new ideas, the landscape architect said. That includes:

• Special night lights. In addition to functional ones, the park will have 12-, 10- and 14-foot Plexiglas light sticks.

• Water features. The park has an interactive fountain. A water wall will flow in a lower plaza near a restored 1926 building.

• Larger trees, in better locations. Crews are planting bigger trees - oak and pistache - in a special soil mix, in wider holes. That should help them survive longer.

• Porous concrete. Water can pass through it, which improves drainage, and it doesn't get as hot as traditional pavers do.

• Hard-working shade. Wavy steel canopies will allow light to filter through. On top, solar cells will help power the park.

City's budget crisis felt

The new park, however, shares one problem with Phoenix's other 205 city parks: the budget cri- sis.

Before the city faced $270 million in red ink, Phoenix planned to staff the park's historic A.E. England Motor Co. building. The city planned to use part of the building for community gatherings, and the rest could be rented to shops or a restaurant.

Now the parks budget could be cut by nearly $30 million over the next 16 months.

It's unclear when the structure, which will be renovated this summer, will be completely open.

The public will be able to use the first-level bathrooms in March, and Phoenix is still looking for tenants for the lower- level retail spaces, city officials say.

"At the moment we don't have plans to operate that building because we don't have the staff," said Inger Erickson, acting assistant director of the city Parks and Recreation Department.

Phoenix is exploring options such as partnering with ASU or others to fund building operations, Erickson said.

Rafael Diaz Dominguez of Phoenix works recently on the new park in downtown Phoenix. The park's features will include special night lights, an interactive fountain and concrete that lets water pass through it, which will be good for the trees.